Rabobank appoints Philip Lau Southeast Asia M&A Head

Appointee seen to strengthen lender's corporate finance with his 15-year experience.

Rabobank International on Tuesday announced the appointment of Mr. Philip Lau as Executive Director and Head of South East Asia, Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Advisory, according to a Rabobank report.

Mr. Lau will be responsible for Rabobank’s Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Advisory (MACA) business, with a focus on core clients in Singapore, Malaysia, and the rest of South East Asia. Mr. Lau reports to Mr. Ronil Sujan, Managing Director and Regional Head, Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Advisory, Asia Pacific, and Mr. Soh Hang Kwang, Chief Executive Officer of the Singapore Branch and Representative Markets.

“We are delighted to welcome Philip to our MACA team. Given his 15 years of experience in corporate finance and advisory work, we are confident that Philip will make a significant contribution to Rabobank’s business growth in these areas,” said Mr. Sujan.

“Having emerged well from the financial crisis, Asia is establishing itself as a promising growth region for Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) activities. Both Western and Asian companies, especially from the Food & Agribusiness (F&A) sector, are actively looking to expand their businesses in this part of the world. With our research strength and historical roots in F&A, coupled with our global co-operation agreement in the field of M&A and Equity Capital Markets advisory in the F&A sector with Rothschild since 2008, Rabobank is well equipped to provide in-depth F&A research knowledge and unmatched global reach in the F&A sector. I look forward to strengthening Rabobank’s position in South East Asia in these business areas,” said Mr. Lau.

Mr. Lau was formerly from KBC Bank (Singapore) Limited, where he was Senior Vice President, Head of Investment Banking. During his five-year stint at KBC Bank, Mr. Lau led a team to originate and execute corporate finance transactions.

Mr. Lau was also with N M Rothschild & Sons (Singapore & Hong Kong) Limited for 9 years, where he was actively involved in advising companies on mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, divestments and valuations. He was also actively involved in raising equity for companies.

Mr. Lau started his career as an auditor with Touche Ross in London, before joining DBS Group Holdings (DBS) in Singapore as an internal auditor. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting degree with Honours from the University of Kent in England, and is a qualified chartered accountant with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.